Jimmy Higdon | You can regain voting rights

One issue left unresolved at the end of the General Assembly’s 2014 session focused on whether certain felons should have their voting rights automatically restored once they’ve paid their debt to society.

It’s likely that lawmakers will revisit the issue in a future legislative session. In the meantime, I hope to clear up one misunderstanding that seemed common in this year’s discussions of the issue.

Some people seem to think that without a change in state law, felons who have fulfilled the requirements placed on them by the justice system have no way of regaining their voting rights.

That is incorrect. The Kentucky Constitution grants the governor the authority to reinstate a person’s voting rights.

This is a power Gov. Steve Beshear exercises regularly. Voting rights have been restored to approximately 1,500 felons each year that the governor has been in office, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections.

Many people who fill out the reinstatement of voting rights form and submit it to the state receive responses in several months. People who start this process by early August will likely be eligible to vote in the November elections.

Part of the reason the push for voting rights for felons has become a big issue in Kentucky is because a previous administration required those applying for restoration of civil rights to submit an essay. Some considered that an unnecessary hurdle. There is no longer an essay requirement. Applicants only have to fill out a one-page form.

Some people understandably think we should get rid of the application process and make the restoration of voting rights automatic for a felon who committed a nonviolent and nonsexual crime. Although our state doesn’t already have the voting rights restoration system that many prefer, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t encourage people to take advantage of the system currently in place. Many people have experienced good results with the current system.

I always try to keep in my wallet a copy of the state’s application form for a restoration of voting rights request. That way I can provide it to anyone who asks about the possibility of regaining the right to vote that was lost due to a mistake in the past that they’ve made amends for.

People whom I give these forms to often seem pleasantly surprised that they aren’t facing difficult hurdles in applying for a reinstatement of their civil rights. The form is simple and doesn’t take much time to fill out.

I also share the application form for restoration of voting rights on my website at www.jimmyhigdon.com. Anyone who goes to that page can click on “Voter Information” to find a link to the application form.

I’m pleased to say that I’ve heard back from some of the people I’ve given the forms to who say that they’ve successfully regained their right to vote. I think it’s a credit to our system that people trying hard to turn their lives around after making terrible mistakes are able to do so.

Our society is at its best when we give people opportunities to become fully engaged participants in our representative democracy. A person who successfully puts a past mistake behind, fulfills a sentence and stays on the right path currently stands a very good chance of being welcomed back as a voting member of society.

Kentucky will be better off if it’s clear to all that this avenue of hope exists.